A Central Michigan University student who has traveled across the United States and Canada to participate in pow wows is competing locally this weekend.

Kasey McCullough, a senior at CMU from Wilson will be on hand at the 24th annual CMU Pow Wow Saturday and Sunday at the Events Center.

Grand Entry on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Sunday’s Grand Entry is scheduled for noon.

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McCullough embraces her Native heritage at pow wows, which feature singing, dancing and cultural activities of Native Americans, with participants wearing their regalia, which is traditional Native American clothing.

McCullough said there are six main dance styles in the Great Lakes region; three for men and three for women.

McCullough is a jingle dress dancer, which is characterized by the metal cones on the dress that make a jingling sound.

“Each dancer has their own way of interpreting and showcasing their style,” McCullough said. “A lot of Native American people who dance always say they were dancing before they were walking.”

Raised in a traditional Native American family in the Hannahville Indian Community, a federally recognized Potawatomi Indian Tribe outside of Escanaba, McCullough has attended the CMU Pow wows since she was a child.

“I think it adds a lot of balance to my life,” she said. “When I’m at a Pow wow, all I think about is singing and dancing.

“It’s a big way to embrace who you are and be in the moment.”

McCullough, a family studies major, now helps chair the committee that plans the annual event.

There will be times throughout the event between exhibitions for inner tribal dance, where dancing is open to the public, McCullough said.

Judy Pamp, assistant director of the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, described the CMU Pow Wow as a place to celebrate diversity and share culture, as well as a celebration of renewal of life.

“I gather strength from dancing and spending time with my friends and family while celebrating our culture,” Pamp said.

The CMU Pow Wow is sponsored by the North American Indigenous Student Organization, Native American Programs office, the Office for Institutional Diversity, CMU and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

Doors open to the public at 11 a.m. both days.

Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for elders, $5 for youth, and free for Saginaw Chippewa Tribal members with identification, CMU students with identification, and children under the age of 4.

There will be Native American food, and 20 arts and crafts vendors at the event.